1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to computer systems. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a method and system for managing a computer system.
2. Description of the Related Art
One beneficial characteristic of computers today is their versatility, specifically, their ability to be used by multiple users and for multiple purposes. The capabilities of a computer, including desktop personal computers, laptop computers, workstations, point of sale computers, and other computer-based devices, may be partially determined by an operating system. Operating systems provide a software platform on top of which other programs, called application programs, can run. Some operating systems permit accounts for multiple users and may have different application programs installed and accessible to each user. A single computer may hold multiple operating systems, multiple application programs, and even multiple versions of a single application program.
Computers located in different areas may be connected via a network, for example, a local-area network (LAN) or wide-area network (WAN). As a result, a computer administrator has the ability to monitor and control a large number of computers from a remote location. A computer administrator has the responsibility to manage the many users, purposes, operating systems, applications and versions of applications installed on a computer.
Traditionally, computer management has been performed in a computer-centric fashion. For example, computer administrators have been presented with lists of computers to be managed. Often, computers are labeled with unique alphanumeric sequences, which, while adequately identifying each computer, do not identify the user associated with a particular computer. Accordingly, if a policy change needs to be effected for certain users, it can be difficult for an administrator to determine which computers are associated with the user so that the policy change can be implemented only on those machines associated with that user. One solution may be to label a computer with the name of its user; however, because a computer may have multiple users and because a user may operate multiple computers, this solution may not always be sufficient. In a computer-centric system, computers may be categorized by groups to reflect geographical location or functional purpose. For example, a supermarket chain may manage thousands of point-of-sale (POS) computer systems, and may configure the computers based on location and function.
Computer management may also be performed in a user-centric fashion. Management from the viewpoint of users, rather than computers they operate, can be more intuitive for the computer administrator and easier to maintain. This type of system is referred to herein as user-centric computer management. The goal of user-centric computer management is to offer computer administrators an alternative view of their enterprise that reflects the user-centric model. In order to operate with existing computer-centric systems, it may be desirable to provide a computer management system in which the traditional computer-centric model remains and may be modified to operate with the user-centric model.
Many companies have, or are moving toward, a centralized store of common enterprise data, for example, employee information, held in a directory. These directories are databases which often hold information about the personnel of the enterprise,. their roles and geographical location. For example, a company could have a directory design using a container hierarchy reflecting the company's geographical structure and groups to reflect the roles of individual users. Where such directories exist, it may also be desirable for user-centric management systems to be able to take advantage of these centralized stores of data by integrating with existing management systems in order to access the directory information to retrieve user information, including employee name, location, occupational role, etc.